Will having visible tattoos affect employement?

My son got some tattoo's while overseas. One is an American flag. I pointed out that the American flag has 13 stripes not 14 as his tattoo shows. I hired him anyway.

 

I've always chuckled at the people that say dress code, hair length, tattoos, etc are just ... and would rather be suspended, fired, miss out on a job rather than comply with some arbitrary rule. EVERY RULE IS ARBITRARY. EVERYONE WEARS A UNIFORM. You are picking which rule is worth getting fired over or which uniform you will wear. Your uniform might be your birthday suit, a faded Aerosmith t-shirt, hair down to you rear end, or a bone through your nose. If you really thought the sacred uniform was unimportant changing to another would be easy. You make your choice, you get your results. So do bosses & customers.

 

Have it reworked into a fire-breathin', gear-jammin', Devil Kitty?......

 

Just cover up your prospective employer don't go giving you a strip search do they? Unless its on your neck i remember years ago on the Phil Donahue show in NYC they were bringing this dude in from Canada he was Tattooed from head to toe and when he hit CBP on the border boy did they give him a right royal welcome they finally let him through however with that amount of tattoo's one would be sure to draw the wrong kind of attention they assumed he had done time in prison i mean why else would he have so many tattoo's right?

 

I've been denied jobs (not necessarily in trucking) due to unproveable beard discrimination.
My own father said he'd never hire me, because of my beard.

Therefore, I've kept my ink below the line. It is a bit of freedom of expression I choose to give up in the interest of making my work life easier. But that's just me. You do you, and good luck.

 

I like tats, but only on women. Men just don’t look right with tats.

 

I just don’t understand people wanting tattoos, but to each his own.

I’m a employer. We have people with us that has tattoos so I would hire somebody with tattoos.

You’ll never get to the interview though with tattoos on your face or neck, vulgar or offensive tattoos, big holes in your ears, or any other strange piercings. We’ve got a company image to uphold and I don’t want that stuff.

For me, any tattoo depends on the reason for getting it. I personally don’t like them for any reason, but I do understand people wanting to do it in remembrance of somebody or something. If you are just wanting to do it to look “cool” or trying to impress your other freak friends, you need to pass.

 

You should care.

I personally don't give a care what you do with your body. But... if I am running a BUSINESS or being part of one with certain rules and dress codes etc. You do not want to show sexually offensive natured material or other outrageous material. Cover that up. Or there will be another driver found who does not offend or another company with drivers that do not have offensive tats.

Tats have seriously taken off in that last oh, 15 years. But they have been around forever and ever for a variety of purposes.

Show up in a multibillion business with papers on a million plus load in your truck, you want to look good. You are at work. Any of the workers there saying something bad about you for whatever reason will eliminate your ability to continue going there with loads or your company's ability to do business at all.

I hate to be difficult. If you care enough to ask about tats, then that's good. Some of it out there is quite well done. But personally I choose not to use them. (Im old... and related to reasons that lean to a subject best avoided on TTR. (Religion)

Enjoy your tats, but be decent until you are finished with your trucking part of life and then you can cover everything in tats if you like.

As a practical matter certain tats on certain gang related people are a problem in visual range. Now Im presuming we are just talking trucking. I could care less again what you put on yourself. But when I am shopping with a family member or friends and see say MS13 nearby as a concealed carry through their tats etc.. there could be some trouble. Follow me? Again this is not quite trucking but it shows where tats could show trouble to either a business proper or even going about your ordinary life.

If you are looking for guideline, I suggest reading the policies issued by the USMC regarding Tattoos. And then be decent on what you don't cover up. Remember also where you have them applied, as you age your skin and various body structures will change position, usually by gravity or other problems in health related problems.

The biggest risk with tats is medical. You do not want a metal based ink anywhere. If for some reason you are in a tractor trailer smash, they trauma lift you into a MRI machine you are going to start sticking to the magnet and then burn by induction until it is shut down and they get your 2nd and 3rd degree burns treated quickly because of metal contained in tattoo ink.

Ive said enough. Again, art is what moves you personally. Enjoy it. But do not let it become a offensive display to anyone in a business structure where possible. And espeically considering where you are going with that semi truck in certain spots in our cities around the USA you do not want to fly gang tats anywhere at all. None. Nothing. zip. They might just shoot you. You wont have time to say Im a trucker. Boom dead or worst.

 

In general trucking companies aren't going to care about tattoos, I've seen some pretty gnarly looking folks here at Prime, and supposedly they are pretty selective for a mega.

You might not always be a truck driver though. I was an ops manager at a large department store before embarking on this career, and I did our hiring. Now I have nothing against tattoos, I even have one, but I sure did pass over some folks with corks in their ears and goofy visible tattoos. Old ladies shopping at our store weren't going to like that. Even if you never work in a public facing position, hiring manager bias might not be in your favor.

Vulgar tattoos in visible places, ehhh...i hope you plan on working as a tattoo artist. I mean would you walk into a shipper wearing a F U t-shirt or some naked lady? I at least nominally try to represent my company in a positive manner. That said I wear shorts and polos a lot and my tattoo is visible, but it's not vulgar or controversial.

 

No ink will EVER be on me. My grandfather knew folks who got inked and made me promise. I'm no snowflake and I miss the Sunday comics in the paper.